Not everything in the playgrounds of America is fit for family if Todd Field’s absorbing drama is anything to go by. To escape the humdrum reality of parenting, Sarah (Winslet) imagines herself as an anthropologist. She sits in the park to examine other mothers, in this case three witches fascinated by a good looking young father they’ve dubbed the Prom King. To their horror, Sarah, married with child, introduces herself and sets in motion a chain of events that will have tragic consequences for all concerned.

We’re introduced to these characters by playful narration whose wit and appealing PBS delivery recalls Garrison Keillor. It’s a clever device that gives us the same anthropological distance afforded Sarah before she grew too close to her subject. It also underlines the emerging themes of isolation that befall parents and their children. This notion is further examined in a subplot with an aging mother and her son, a convicted flasher, now the victim of a hate campaign. It’s not without cause - he visits a kids’ swimming pool in snorkel and flippers.

Little Children expands seductively as the principles fall out of step from their existing relationships. The leads are fleshy and attractive, particularly Wilson (Hard Candy) who reveals his leading-man capabilities. Although it lacks the precision of Field’s In The Bedroom - events drift in a third act that is overlong, and sketchy minor characters are distracting  - the film maintains our interest as he explores similar themes from that earlier film. With much to say about modern relationships, community and the paranoia that informs them, Little Children is witty without being jokey, unsentimental without being cold; a tough yet rewarding watch.

// COLIN FRASER